Capturing the problems teenagers, namely high schoolers, face is difficult, and there are thousands of television shows and movies alone that have attempted to do so. Popular representations of teen drama range from Mean Girls, a comedy exploring popularity, to 13 Reasons Why, a drama packing in numerous heavy topics teenagers unfortunately face such as suicide and rape. One show, though, has undoubtedly created one of the most beautiful, entertaining, complex—and yes—accurate portrayals of high school there is.
Euphoria, an American teen drama with so far only one season, follows a group of high school students through their encounters with love, partying, drugs, sex, abuse, mental illness, and identity.
I’ll keep this relatively spoiler-free to allow you the true joy of experiencing Euphoria. This show has received a considerable amount of criticism, primarily for being unrealistic and glorifying drugs (amongst other things). The issue with this view, however, is that it treats Euphoria as some sort of documentary with the purpose to denounce the dangerous activities teenagers find themselves in.
The true goal of Euphoria is to depict what the creator calls an “emotional reality.” Like any drama, Euphoria is exaggerated, but it certainly includes problems that are not uncommon amongst teenagers, and does so through a fantastical lens that creates emotions many teenagers can relate to. It’s structured to relate to the mindset of a teenager dealing with these struggles. One example of this is romanization of drugs through scenes of the characters experiencing literal (drug-induced) euphoria, because this is an accurate representation of the feeling teenagers chase through drugs. However, if you walk away from this show believing drugs are cool, you probably need to rewatch, because there’s also a multitude of scenes revealing the crueler side of drug use, such as Zendaya’s award-winning performance as her character, Rue, desperately begged her dealer (and friend) for a fix.
This approach is what differentiates Euphoria from other teen dramas. Shows like 13 Reasons Why fail because they toss in every traumatic experience a teenager could possibly face, without any relief from the depression to show the magical moments of adolescence. On the opposite end of the spectrum, movies like Mean Girls keep such a lighthearted tone that they avoid addressing any real issue without comedy. Euphoria finds a balance between the two, creating an emotional reality with true complexity and depth within its characters and their issues.
To add several cherries on top, Euphoria also explores these topics through a diverse cast, astonishingly beautiful cinematography and lighting, an award-winning soundtrack, distinguished costume design, and small touches that cater the show to a Gen Z audience. The LGBT representation covers all bases (a transgender character being played by a transgender actress; racial diversity within the LGBT characters; scenes addressing the specific struggles of LBGT characters without making it their entire plotline; normalization of LGBT characters), and there are several characters played by people of color, such as the Bennetts, Maddy Perez, and Chris McKay. The camera has a life of its own, with absolutely incredible shots that go (literally) above and beyond to express the chaotic, uncomfortable, eerie, and euphoric moments in the show. The main characters are gifted with fascinating backstories that make them much more than mere stereotypes.
It’s no surprise that Euphoria has been widely praised by both teenagers and critics alike. It’s a phenomenal representation of teen melodrama, providing pure entertainment, visual and auditory appeals, character depth and development, platonic and romantic relationship sagacity, and complex social commentary that makes it undoubtedly one of the best teen dramas to date.
I just recently watched Euphoria when I got to campus and I must say it is probably the best show I’ve ever seen. I was a little bit reluctant to watch because it deals with many serious and dark topics, but I am so glad I finally gave it a shot. It really helped me understand the things people battling drug addiction and mental health issues go through. I can’t wait for the second season!
I also just recently watched Euphoria for the first time and I was hooked after the first episode. I binged it in matter of only like three days. It is truly amazing how the producers were able to cover the topics they did, in the way they did. They chose very risky topics to cover, especially with the abusive relationship as you mentioned. That can be something that is extremely difficult to accurately display, even more so since it involved teenagers. The second season is not supposed to come out until late 2021 to early 2022 and I was devastated when I found out I would have to wait that long to see it.
Euphoria was a truly wonderful show. I have not thought until now with the help of your deliverance of the fact that this show has been one of the best and most accurate teen dramas to date. I can remember the times after watching other teen dramas such as 13 Reasons Why and everybody had their critique ready. Now, after the first season of Euphoria, as critique is inevitable, there wasn’t as much from our age group. I realize that the show is just simply accurate in portraying the our lives today through different means, and there is simply nothing more to say about it.